Sport
21 October, 2021
Southfield ends Barry’s winless run
FOUR year-old mare Southfield ended an eighth mont stint between winners for Terang trainer Jamie Barry last week.
FOUR year-old mare Southfield ended an eighth mont stint between winners for Terang trainer Jamie Barry last week.
The daughter of Golden Snake won a $35,000 maiden over 1700 metres for the Simpson footballer, who last tasted success on the track on February 14.
Barry, who has won six times since receiving his training licence in 2019, said the win was good for his stable as well as the horse, given it was its maiden win.
“I knew she was building to something like that run on Thursday,” he said.
“I thought she would be very competitive and very close but you’re still unsure when you’re in a field like that.
“She just got the right run and a peach of a ride from Christine.
“Christine said she did it pretty easy and was happy with it so to get that one at that distance there is potentially more wins in store for her.”
While the win was over 1700 metres, Barry is confident the mare’s best will be beyond 2000 metres.
“She’s nearly fully matured both physically and mentally but there is still room for improvement and growth,” he said.
“As we step her out in distance beyond 2000 metres, I think we’ll really start to see the real Southfield.
“Her only other run beyond the mile other than last week was at Coleraine over 2250 metres and she worked really hard and ran second.
“I think once we got over 2000 metres we’ll start to see her at her best.”
Barry said the win was good for his stable as well as Southfield’s connections, which were mostly Terang-based.
“To repay them for the trust they have in me (is great,” he said.
“They came to me and said we want to a local lad a go if you’re interested and it doesn’t come around very often where horses are offered to you so I’m truly thankful for that.
“I’m happy she has won one, but I’m hoping she can win a few more.”
Puls admitted she had a point to prove after the horse’s last start but praised Barry and the stable, adding it was nice for connections to witness the win.
“It’s nice to get winners for battlers like Jamie and the whole team,” she said.
“They work so hard – it doesn’t matter if you’ve got two or 50 in work, the work’s still got to be done to get them to the races.
“They deserved it today (last Thursday). I love it when you win for Jamie because the cheers are huge and you can hear them from a mile away.
“That’s what it means to a stable like this. It might not look much in the middle of a week at Warrnambool but for them it makes it easier for them to get out of bed.”